Dubai Airports welcomes billionth passenger

Dubai Airports and representatives from across the aviation sector and the emirate of Dubai gave a warm welcome to the airport’s billionth passenger, nine-year-old Arjun and his family, who arrived last week from Orlando, Florida on Emirates flight EK220.

At a celebration held in Dubai International Airport (DXB), Arjun along with his mother Ramya, father Venkatesh and 13-year-old brother Varun, were personally greeted by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports and warmly welcomed on this, their first visit to Dubai. They were also delighted with details of an unforgettable and surprising set of experiences that showcase Dubai’s longstanding reputation for excitement, luxury and modern Arabic hospitality.

At the airport this afternoon, Sheikh Ahmed said; “This landmark billionth passenger achievement is the result of teamwork and collaboration, and special thanks goes out to each and every member of the airport community who have played a role in this journey.”

“Of course, we would not be in this position if it weren’t for the visionary leadership of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, both of whom foresaw the development of Dubai into a global centre for trade, tourism and commerce enabled by a fast-growing and world-leading aviation sector with top-flight airport infrastructure,” he added.

The billionth customer is arguably the most significant in a long litany of achievements since the airport first opened on September 30, 1960, with a tiny terminal building and a runway of compacted sand. Today the hub is widely considered a benchmark for its quality infrastructure, passenger and cargo volumes and high service levels despite unrelenting growth. DXB handles an average of 7.5 million customers every month and this year broke its own traffic record thrice with more than 8.3 million customers in a month.

FT Insight

Tour Itinerary

• Dubai airport took 51 years – from 30 September 1960 to 31 December 2011 – to reach its 500 millionth passenger but clocked the remaining 500 million in just seven years.
• Today DXB handles an average of 7.5 million customers every month and this year broke its own traffic record thrice with more than 8.3 million customers in a month
• Over the past 11 years, alone Dubai Airports has opened seven major facilities with an investment of almost $ 12 billion

Nothing puts DXB’s growth in perspective more than the fact that the airport took 51 years – from 30 September 1960 to 31 December 2011 – to reach its 500 millionth passenger but clocked the remaining 500 million in just seven years. Over the past 11 years, alone Dubai Airports has opened seven major facilities with an investment of almost $ 12 billion. Five of those have been at DXB including Terminal 3, Concourses A, B, D and the complete refurbishment and expansion of Terminal 2.  

To pick the lucky passenger, Dubai Airports used its passenger traffic forecast to narrow down the selection to a specific flight and approached Emirates to make a random selection.